Hello,
Today I dug a pit to try and test the drainage of the soil in our front garden prior to converting it into a driveway (32sqm area). It will most likely be gravel over plastic cellular paving, or, perhaps, permeable blocks, but the soil suffers from a high clay content and I was worried about poor drainage.
So, the pit was about 550mm x 550mm x 300mm deep (0.3sqm area). I poured in a bit more than 40 litres of water, and it was gone in just under 40 minutes. How does that sound? Good or bad?
Drainage test
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Tony McC
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VERY good.
The essence of the standard simplified test is a hole 300x300x300 at least 1m above the water table. Fill and leave it overnight. If it's empty the next morning, the ground is deemed to be sufficiently permeable for driveway/patio installations.
And before anyone starts, I *know* there's more to BRE 65 than that, but this is the widely accepted simplified version.
The essence of the standard simplified test is a hole 300x300x300 at least 1m above the water table. Fill and leave it overnight. If it's empty the next morning, the ground is deemed to be sufficiently permeable for driveway/patio installations.
And before anyone starts, I *know* there's more to BRE 65 than that, but this is the widely accepted simplified version.
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mickg
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that's exactly what i was going to post with the dimensions of the hole 
Crystalclear
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GB_Groundworks
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http://www.klargester.ie/download-files ... ystems.pdf
Detail info on percolation test from klargester, they recommend filling it once letting it drain then doing the test
Detail info on percolation test from klargester, they recommend filling it once letting it drain then doing the test
Giles
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Groundworks and Equestrian specialists, prestige new builds and sports pitches. High Peak, Cheshire, South Yorkshire area.
http://www.gbgroundworks.com
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Tony McC
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Yes: the 'fill and fill again' method is edging closer to BRE 65.
The incredibly affable Prof. John Knapton developed an incredibly simplified 10-minute test for soil permeability a couple of years ago. He reckons it's good enough to use as an indicator for domestic driveways and patios. I had the details on my desk while I was writing the new stuff about soakaways, but since the xmas tidy-up, I can't find a bloody thing. It must have been moved to another pile....I'll see if I can find it later today.
The incredibly affable Prof. John Knapton developed an incredibly simplified 10-minute test for soil permeability a couple of years ago. He reckons it's good enough to use as an indicator for domestic driveways and patios. I had the details on my desk while I was writing the new stuff about soakaways, but since the xmas tidy-up, I can't find a bloody thing. It must have been moved to another pile....I'll see if I can find it later today.
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